Starting QB
- Thread starter UCFBBALL
- Start date
With Coach Leach, nothing is ever for sure. But, as of now the odds are probably 75-80% that Falk is the starter to begin the season in my opinion.
I think you are in good shape picking Falk. Leach likes to let his QBs all practice with the ones, and it's always a competition to help push people higher, but here is why Falk is the guy.
1. He played last year and had a great debut. He struggled later, but our O-line had some injuries.
2. He started the spring game and had the most reps and did the best.
3. He was the leader organizing all the summer involuntary workouts/social events.
4. His leadership and comradere of his teammates is extremely high.
5. He's spent most of his time with the 1s..like an overwhelming majority. Bender has taken some reps with the 1st, but as I said Leach wants even the #2 guy to be able to play like the #1.
All of this points to Falk being the starter. Baring an injury or just disastrous play (which he hasn't done) he will be the guy.
Falk will likely be the guy but Bender is closing the gap every day and is starting to push Falk. It's going to be fun to watch!
Agree you never know with Leach but I believe Falk is almost a lock to start game 1 and 2 but beyond that I wouldn't 'bet the farm' he takes all significant snaps the rest of the seasons. Bender appears to have the better "arm" and had held his own.
If Falk was entering this season without significant playing time that would be one thing but the 3 1/2 games he played last season where he had some success helps. He's also taken on a lot of leadership stuff since the end of last season. Feels like he's the guy other than being actually named at this point.
Awesome info, thanks. I will take a chance and grab him if he is there. Your starting QB is almost a lock for 5,000 yards and 40 TDs. How many additional TDs and INTs would be the only question. From what I am reading Marks and Cracraft are going to be big time playmakers. The O'Line would be the only other concern.
The OL returns all five starters from an above average unit, especially from a pass protection standpoint.
Yeah also our DBs play better against our offense because they know all the routes and things.
Kyrin Priester will be big this year. He's an under the radar guy for the public but he's been huge in practice/camp and will definitely see the field. He may also be our return guy. Some say he's our best receiver. So that may be a waiver wire pickup or something.
I'd also say, if the spring game was any indication, "sack in practice" = pocket getting moderately uncomfortable.
We do return all five starters, and from a pass protection standpoint, you might be ok to say that they are an above average unit from a crimson tinted perspective, but the rest of the world does not view our OL as above average in the past.
FWIW, I do believe that they will be an above average unit this year with increased experience and size.
Falk (or Bender) will need that above average line. It's great to have 18 scholarship OLM on the roster but at this point it still appears difficult to identify 8 or 9 that are ready to play in the rotation. Freeman, Seydel, and most likely O'Connell are next up. Seems like Ecklund would flip outside to LT for Dahl when/if necessary.
The OL is in much better shape than it was 3 years ago but still is a work in progress.
The starting five OLs did an excellent job of their primary responsibility, defending against the pass rush. The running game- not so much. The media guys seem to look at our rushing stats and assume the OL sucks. They do not seem to factor in Leach's offensive philosophy and probably ignore the fact that sacks- and we have more than most due to the passing emphasis- detract from the rushing figures. Ferris is spot on about building quality depth. The next step is to acquire backups capable of fitting in seamlessly so the OL doesn't suffer when replacements are needed, as we saw in the latter portion of last year's schedule.
It's all about perspective I guess. Our QB, who didn't scramble much, had his leg broken because of poor pass protection. Falk had a terrible game against ASU because he was getting pummeled. Our sacks per pass attempt aren't terrible but given that so many of our passes are short, quick passes, it's tough to gauge the stat. I do believe that we have an OL with potential this year, but until we have a line that gives our QB enough to really run through his progressions effectively, I wouldn't sell it as anything but average.
The potential will be realized this year. There seems to be a much more united front with guys who will play their hearts out. The rotten core pieces have departed and players are talking this line themselves. I see much better production in the red zone and especially the first and fourth quarters of football no matter whom the opponent is.
